Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Christine Jordan SextonJune 9, 2015

Sen. Durell Peaden is stable in Pennsylvania after having double bypass surgery June 2. Peaden was traveling with his wife when he had the heart attack and was admitted to a hospital. Friends say he is in stable condition and should be able to return to Florida in the next few weeks. Peaden is the chairman […]

Christine Jordan SextonJune 7, 2015

Florida legislators over the weekend tried to hammer out budget decisions on everything from hospital spending to money for Everglades restoration. But as they slogged through spreadsheets, proviso language and dollar amounts, fault lines quickly developed between the House and Senate over everything from member-backed projects, education policy and whether to borrow money to pay […]

Ryan RayJune 3, 2015

The Senate’s FHIX 2.0 health care insurance plan carried the day in the upper chamber by a vote of 33-3 Wednesday afternoon. It came after an hours-long session of back-patting and exhortations to the House to join them on their quest for a health care “revolution,” as one senator called it. Warm feelings and high-minded speeches rang […]

Ryan RayJune 1, 2015

Health care committees in the House and Senate on Monday discussed the same proposal to expand health care access to the uninsured–SB 2A–in Florida. But it might not have sounded like it. In a “Tale of Two Cities”-esque tableau, the Senate discussed the bill for one hour before unanimously agreeing to pass it with sponsor […]

Phil AmmannJune 1, 2015

Although Northwest Florida U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller faced only nominal challenges in every election district since 2001, a run for U.S. Senate is a different story. A prospective Senate run may be why the Chumuckla Republican added the strategic services of OnMessage to his team. It makes perfect sense, says Marc Caputo in POLITICO Florida […]

Phil AmmannMay 31, 2015

State Sen. Don Gaetz will not be running for the U.S. Senate in 2016. NWF Daily News staff writer Tom McLaughlin says the Niceville Republican could be a candidate for the seat of Northwest Florida Congressman Jeff Miller, who hinted at a Senate run to replace presidential candidate Marco Rubio. With only about 530 days […]

Peter SchorschMay 26, 2015

The imminent special session is just the warm-up to a hot political summer in Florida. The answers to these 10 questions will shape the immediate future for the state and – in some cases – the nation. What does Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign roll-out look like? Bush may look like a candidate, sound like a […]

Mitch PerryMay 18, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott‘s call for Florida hospitals to share their profits if the federal government refuses to authorize $2.2 billion in health-care spending has been greeted as a form of socialism by critics, including some from his own party. “That’s government price controls,” Niceville-based GOP state Sen. Don Gaetz said in a recent radio interview. “That really brought […]

Peter SchorschMay 18, 2015

If Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller runs in 2016 for Marco Rubio‘s seat in the U.S. Senate, the political dominoes that are likely to fall will stretch from Florida’s border with Alabama to the Suwanee River. Odds of Miller running increased after he attended this past weekend’s quarterly meeting of the Republican Party of Florida, something that the […]

Ryan RayMay 18, 2015

Republican Sen. Wilton Simpson made his 2018 intentions official last week, filing paperwork Friday for a re-election bid in his rural central Florida Senate seat that takes in all or parts of Hernando, Pasco and Sumter counties. Simpson’s move to open a campaign account comes days after Marc Caputo of POLITICO reported that the Senate’s “Chicken Man” […]

Tag: Don Gaetz

Former Sen. Durell Peaden stable in Pennsylvania after open heart surgery

House, Senate remain divided over major budget items

Jeff Brandes bucks Senate, votes “no” on revamped FHIX health care plan

Dueling committee presentations on FHIX plan show merits of health care expansion all in the eye of the beholder

Adding high-profile GOP firm suggests Jeff Miller interest in Senate run

Don Gaetz will not run for U.S. Senate, but considers House seat

Peter Schorsch: Ten big questions facing Florida politics heading into summer

Rick Scott defends call for Florida hospitals to share wealth

If Jeff Miller runs for Senate, North Florida dominoes will begin to fall

Wilton Simpson, future Senate president, files for 2018 re-election